Webcomics
by
As of this writing in 2019, webcomics are easy to stumble upon: you can follow cartoonists on the image-centric Instagram or Tumblr platforms, friends share them in social media feeds, and excerpts commonly appear in Reddit discussion threads. Internet users commonly convert individual comics panels into sharable memes that morph as they travel the web, blurring the lines between artist and user and between comics and other digital media. Despite this reach, webcomics are one of the most understudied forms of comics, which signifies a disconnect between scholarship and culture. Sometimes called “digital native” comics, webcomics are originally shared through online posting. As with many types of online texts, they can be posted on social media or through the artist’s own website, and series are generally most successful when they post new content on a regular schedule (Guigar 2014). Webcomics can range from one-time illustrations to multiyear-long serial narratives and cover a range of topics and genres, often refusing to fit standard genre expectations. Webcomics are distinguished from “digital comics,” or “e-comics,” which are often printed comics rendered in digital form, much like ebooks. As T. Campbell (2006) points out, webcomics are hugely influenced by the development of internet technology,...
This essay may be found on page 219 of the printed volume.